1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to monitoring and diagnostics and, more particularly, to a non-intrusive and operational communication system monitoring and diagnostics.
2. Introduction
Equipment manufacturers have developed various tools for diagnostic and debug purposes. These tools provide important functionality in testing the physical layer connections of interfaces prior to shipment of network equipment (e.g., switch) to a customer for installation.
One of the key diagnostic tools used prior to shipment or in a test environment is loopback testing. In general, loopback testing is based on the routing of transmitted information back to the receiver on the same port from which it was transmitted. The loopback of such transmitted information enables a verification of the connectivity of a circuit as well as the signal quality on the circuit. In effect, the loopback testing enables an isolation of circuit segments, thereby simplifying the diagnostic process.
While diagnostics such as loopback testing have great utility prior to shipment or in a test environment, their effectiveness in a live-field environment is somewhat limited. Network equipment installed in the field have ports coupled to other network equipment. The diagnosis of those ports using loopback testing would therefore require re-configuration of the network equipment, port downtime, traffic loss, and increased administration costs, all of which would impact a customer's network operation. What is needed therefore is a non-intrusive and operational communication system monitoring and diagnostics.